GateHouse Media launches Wicked Local’ network

NEEDHAM – GateHouse Media New England has transformed its TownOnline Web sites into the new Wicked Local network of 158 hyper-local community sites.

NEEDHAM – GateHouse Media New England has transformed its TownOnline Web sites into the new Wicked Local network of 158 hyper-local community sites.

Developed from the prize-winning Wicked Local Plymouth, each town-specific site features a combination of news from GateHouse newspapers, opportunities for user participation, deep community information, and lots of advertising from local merchants.

Spread across eastern Massachusetts from the North Shore to the tip of Cape Cod and out to Worcester County in the west, each Wicked Local site allows a visitor to:

· Read the local news, comment on it, and discuss it with other citizens.

· Get local information about schools, government, organizations, and history.

· Share photographs and videos.

· Read blogs from GateHouse reporters, editors, and community members.

“We want each of our sites to be thought of as a one-stop resource for living in that community,” said Kirk Davis, president and CEO of GateHouse Media New England. “With deep roots in every one of our communities and the cutting-edge technology platform, we feel we are in the best position to become that one-stop resource in all our cities and towns.”

The 158 town-specific sites join GateHouse Media’s existing Wicked Local verticals which includes, Wicked Local Homes for real estate, Wicked Local Wheels for auto sales, and Wicked Local Jobs, in partnership with Yahoo! HotJobs, for employment.

The goal of Wicked Local is to go beyond being just “the newspaper online,” explained Anne Eisenmenger, vice president of Audience Development for GateHouse Media New England. “We’ve designed Wicked Local to be a forum for debate, a central local marketplace, a place for neighbors to exchange information about milestones and happenings. A place to brag. A place to grieve. A place to argue. A place to come together.”

In line with that philosophy, the navigational “tabs” on the site do not read like the sections of a newspaper. While “News” contains most of the relevant newspaper’s content (and more), “Sports,” “Fun,” “Blogs,” and “Town/City Info” go beyond traditional newspaper fare.

At the same time, GateHouse Media New England – with its eight daily newspapers and more than 100 weekly titles throughout eastern Massachusetts – has the on-the-ground reporting resources to provide timely, accurate, professional news reporting in all 158 Wicked Local communities.

The new Wicked Local sites replace the Town Online Web sites previously maintained by the GateHouse weekly newspapers. The GateHouse daily newspapers retain their individual Web sites, working synergistically with the Wicked Local sites.

The original Wicked Local Plymouth site, launched in the spring of 2006, was named Web site of the Year by Suburban Newspapers of America in 2006 and Best Local Community Web site in 2007. Also this year, Wicked Local Plymouth was one of 32 Web sites from around the world honored by Editor & Publisher and MediaWeek magazines with a prestigious EPpy award.

While changing technology platforms to expand Wicked Local from three to 158 sites, GateHouse endeavored to retain the original Wicked Local functionality – and add some new features, such as the ability for users to post video and start their own blogs.

To see the new Web sites, go to www.wickedlocal.com and, from there, to “Wicked Local Towns,” and click on your community.

GateHouse Media New England publishes 127 daily and weekly newspapers reaching more than 1.7 million readers through eastern Massachusetts each week. The eight daily newspapers include; The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, The Enterprise of Brockton, and The MetroWest Daily News. GateHouse Media New England also publishes numerous specialty publications.

GateHouse Media, Inc., headquartered in Fairport, N.Y., is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by its 86 daily publications. GateHouse Media currently serves local audiences of more than 10 million per week across 19 states through hundreds of community publications and local Web sites. GateHouse Media is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GHS."

For more information regarding GateHouse Media and to be added to our e-mail distribution list, please visit www.gatehousemedia.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, statements relating to progress made by the Company in its integration efforts, growth in revenues and cash flow, on-line revenues and potential ventures, undertakings and opportunities.

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